24 Dramatic Kitchen Makeovers

redwagen Just went through this process in our mid century ranch a few months ago. We were amazed at how remodeling our kitchen truly transformed our entire house, let alone the kitchen space. Main objective was to open up the galley kitchen into the living room by creating a pass through.

Samantha Schoech Great idea book. I love before and afters. I'm not in love with any of these, though. But obviously the homeowners are and that's what matters.
And now I've seen enough granite countertop to last me a lifetime...

groveraxle Thank you for a great feature, but just a suggestion about something that always makes me a little crazy. I find it easier to compare when the before and after shots are taken from the same vantage point. In many of these kitchens, I found myself trying to twirl myself around, and ultimately gave up.

salex Thanks for an inspiring ideabook. While I may not have the same taste as many of these homeowners, I LOVE that many of the kitchens are of modest size, had modest budgets, and used lots of do-it-yourself elbow grease!

trasgorshek I love to look at before and afters. Thank you for the post! Here's a few of ours. Nothing major, just added a little personality to an otherwise builder grade kitchen.

Question for other Houzz readers, anyone having problems with their marble counters? And if so, what did you do to remedy them?

myfanwyb We are still working on our kitchen gut and renovation. It has been five months and we are nearly there. I admire anyone who did this, especially by themselves and on a reasonable budget. The biggest consistent surprise and thorn in my side is not using counter depth fridges or extending cabinetry to cover the side if the fridge. I absolutely despise that fridge jutting out past the cabinetry. I understand in an economy and or /recycle Reno job but otherwise spend the little extra. I have seen the same in "professional" jobs as well. Winnipeg...you did good! I think we have the same backsplash tile!

calkelley I do love drooling over the kitchens in Houzz.
But what I really love about this article was the 'every man' aspect. This wasn't doing a huge addition with a $100,000 budget. I am truly impressed with the cost effectiveness of many of these projects. They make me feel like I can do something without adding a second mortgage and that might actually inspire me to finally do a project. More so than the others which I just drool and sigh over...

beth M Not too sure what I was planning when buying the house - but great fun to gut out and start again

midmodfan Love before and after photos! Many examples are really impressive. Good to see that so many of the Houzzers confide in their own design skills, and interesting how much you can achieve with some cans of paint.

andikoci Am I the only person in the world who can't stand the look of granite? Looks like a tombstone,

olldbobbi Of course all the "afters" are gorgeous, but what's really amazing is how we lived with any of those "befores"!!! And, andikoci, I don't care for granite, either. I have an aversion to anything that's done, and done, and overdone.

A Waters So happy with this project, I transformed an awful kitchen into a masterpiece.

PamDesigns 3D We completed our remodel about a month ago. As much as I love how it looks, what I really love is the functionality of it. As you can see in the 'before photo', we had granite before. I found it difficult to live with. The new counters are acrylic solid surface (not Corian but similar). It is smooth, matte finished and not as cold or hard --and especially easy to keep clean.

studiovhdesign we have to remodel our tiny 10 X 15 kitchen and plan on making a concrete counter. Yes GRANITE is so OVER DONE! Have to keep in style with the house which we have worked on a lot. Has a cottage feel on the outside so I do want a white clean kitchen with subway tiles in grey... or a touch of light blue. I used sketch up to design my own. Looks like a wood counter here because we are undecided. Its so much fun.

beth M Lava Stone is a lovely alternate to Granite. Treated like Glass, and looks really stylish.

Alicia Think about adding a tile mural or a mosaic mural to your remodeling project

Any image can be transferred onto tiles

http://www.AliciaTappDesigns.com

lk_designs I, too, am over granite. While it is a lovely material, it actually isn't that practical for kitchen counters. Marble also is less practical - it's too soft. I've seen too many kitchens that have wooden cupboards and black granite tops and black appliances. Black needs to be used with care !
But I do love before and after photos. My own kitchen is a mishmash of styles but it works. For me, anyway.

SURROUNDINGS INTERIORS, INC. Beach condo kitchen: before & after

bubblyjock I, too, love before-and-after DIY stories like most of these, and agree with the "please take those before-and-after shots from the same location"!

It'd be great if each kitchen makeover-er was bold enough to mention one (or more!) mistake they'd made in their makeover, and how/what they would have done differently. It's great to be able to learn from others' mistakes.

For the granite-haters; if granite isn't honed to a clinical gravestone high sheen, but left with a more natural patina, it's much softer to the eye...and just as easy/difficult to maintain, depending on your perspective. Wish more people left it with a gentle satin finish!

Studio NOO Design Montreal townhouse - before and after !

portpiro I'm afraid I got awfully confused half way through trying to work out which description fitted which photos. Above or below? Anyway I gave up eventually and just looked at the pictures. Gosh some people spent a LOT of money! I'd expect gold plated cupboards for 62 grand. But the thing that struck me time and time again was how much I prefer white kitchens to timber. I know they get grubby but timber kitchens just remind me of the 80s which was such a depressing era, design wise.

sailnmuffin Someone commented on a preference for counter-depth fridges instead of conventional fridges. Yes; it looks much better. Yes; I agree that a conventional fridge protruding into the kitchen's space is irritating - personally, fridges bug me to death with their bulk. But there are 2 problems with counter-depth fridges: (1) they are MUCH more expensive than their conventional counterparts; and (2 they are much wider than their conventional counterparts. Thus they are harder to incorporate into a kitchen remodel of an existing structure, unless you're willing to sacrifice some cabinet & counter space, and/or re-frame the walls of the kitchen.

We're lucky: we're building a house from the ground up - yet we still have challenges on where to frame the kitchen's interior walls. We'll be framing a recess for a conventional fridge so that its front will end up flush with the countertop-and-base-cabinets-to-be (saving hundreds of bucks by avoiding a counter-depth fridge), and we'll have 12" of space left over for a pull-out style mini-pantry next to the fridge. So, if we or a future occupant want to change to a bigger or wider fridge, there will be an extra 12" to play with in that space, without having to impact the rest of the kitchen's cabinetry or countertops.

Speaking of countertops, I agree with other posts here that granite has totally jumped the shark - mostly because the folks who've installed it have now had time to use it & learn its disadvantages. It is indeed very cold, hard, rough & unforgiving as a work surface, yet it's more tender and demanding of care than most folks realize. Over the years my home chef has used most of the available surfaces (tile, Formica, granite, quartz, soapstone, etc.), & has concluded that for a kitchen that gets heavily-used, acrylic solid surface is the best all-around for affordability, color, ease of installation, ease of maintenance & durability. We're going with a combo of solid-surface & wood butcher block for countertop/work areas in the kitchen. But first we need to complete the walls & get a roof on.... ;>)

wesscoblinds I agree on granite. Just started living with stainless steel and I love it. Easy to clean and looks very industrial !

kowsowitz Vanessa, Thanks for showing us so many 'regular-sized' kitchens with great facelifts.

spiguet We finished our remodel on April 15th and I couldn't be happier with the result. We gutted the kitchen to the studs and ended up remodeling that space, the dining room and the living room, along with redesigning our original walk in pantry and adding a butler's pantry. We had custom cabinets designed and installed and new wood floors installed, but my husband, my two children and I did the rest of the work. I did go with granite, but it is honed granite and it is the best part of the kitchen.

tbaisa Lots of people are commenting that they are "over" granite. White marble is beautiful, but it's also one of the least durable counter surfaces. For the granite haters :) what do you recommend for a durable, classy looking counter top?

nanlu Myfanwyb, I totally agree with you. We just started our complete kitchen re-do on Monday. I'm not sorry to see my 50-year old kitchen go! I planned it myself with some help from my contractor. One of my must-haves was a counter-depth refrigerator. It wasn't in my budget to buy a built-in fridge, but ordered a cabinet to completely surround it. I was limited as to the fridge size that would work, but I was able to find one that is 36-inches wide, not overly expensive and still provides plenty of space. I think the exposed grey sides of a stainless-steel fridge ruin the look of an, otherwise, beautiful kitchen remodel!

astraea Preliminary comment - I wish all the "before" and "after" pictures were done in the same orientation, so they'd be easier to compare. I know that they're not, because in the first "before" picture, there are windows on the right side of the room, but in the "after" picture there's another room there!

lzallie Recently transformed our 1990s New Jersey kitchen with custom built toffee colored cabinets, granite and travertine tile backsplash in 11 x 11 kitchen space for just under $20,000.

maude321 We moved into a 1924 arts and crafts bungalow with a badly renovated kitchen. We tore it out, put in a modern bungalow style kitchen (I designed it) and added an outdoor living room to it. The budget was 37,000 but it actually cost 50,000 before we were done. It was totally worth it and we love it.

calkelley I loved my Corian countertops. The only issue was I couldn't place hot dishes on them but kept a stash of felt footed tiles on hand. The advantages were smooth, stretches of soft white counters (with a blue roped tile on the side) that cleaned easily, had integrated sinks (no edges to catch debris!), could roll out pastry on, or anything else. Hmmm, did I forget to mention after more than 20 years, it still could be cleaned to a soft shine?
I think with an updated edge and a new backsplash, it would look good for another 10 years. I never tired of it.

marysue0101 These are interesting, very different kitchens - thank you for sharing. I am thinking about doing quartz countertops, anyone out there have them? Comments? I'd like to see some more suggestions for backspashes. I want something contemporary and not too expensive.

Carol appreciate your comment on making refs the same depth as counters; one problem also is you get less square footage for the same width ref, I have heard some people say a full-size pizza won't fit in them. However, I really appreciated the comment; we just sold our remodeled home (no. 3 kitchen) and are building; i will see if the builder will recess it back into the wall...thanks!

Also, I love our granite counters, but next house will have honed granite so it doens't look so "shiny" and modern....going for a rustic/modern lakeside look. Great ideas on Houzz for my future kitchen!

maude321 I have Quartz counter tops. It took me a while to find a soft, organic looking quartz without the "fake" granite look but I used Zodiac, a DuPont product. It was more expensive than Granite or Corian but I love it. http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_US/products/zodiaq/index.html My first choice would have been cement but the really good custom jobs were out of my price range.

sarah58 I like the recycled glass countertops, some of them are really pretty and they are much more durable than granite or marble. The cost, however, is similar.

Kimberly Russell Our kitchen hadn't been touched in maybe 40 years. Parts of our house is over 200 years old. It still has some knob and tube wiring to go with it too. My husband did everything for this kitchen except the countertop. He did all the demolishing, wiring, plumbing, drywall, cabinet, appliance and floor installation. All while being an over the road truck driver. So most work was only done on weekends. Which is why it took about 2 years.

maggiesetler Thanks for including kitchens that were under $40,000.

I love looking at the eye-candy $100,000+ jobs but it is great to see so many kitchens that look wonderful and were done on a "real life" budget!

Affirming Kitchen Clarity This Las Vegas Kitchen was 40 - by Affirming Kitchen Clarity Inc.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Wow! Those are really transformations. Inspiring.

nanlu I don't know from experience, but I've heard that there are counter-depth french door refrigerators that will fit a pizza box.

My counters will be Cambria's Blackwood quartz. It is black with flecks of tan and grey-blue. My cabinets will be a light cherry caramel. I happen to prefer a color contrast between the cabinets and countertop. I like the look of stone, but not the movement or large color variation that most granites have. On the other hand, I wanted a little more color than absolute black granite. I like the idea that quartz is pretty much maintenance-free. You can purchase either 3"x3" or 12"x12" samples from Cambria's website www.cambriasua.com. That was a big help in deciding which one to buy.

My sister has soapstone which is beautiful, but seems to chip if you're not extremely careful and needs to be oiled frequently to look its best.

kellystevens OK, I'm just gonna say it. Too much pattern in the granite, too much contrast between cabinets and countertops, too many busy details stopping the eye, too many over-the-top light fixtures put in the wrong place, awkward angles on the islands, weird corners, counters chopped off, broken lines, cabinets and storage jammed into every possible space. There is not much subtlety or "less is more" going on here.

smoore Loved the transformations! So many different styles and tastes but all great. Just my 2 cents worth here but I LOVE granite. When looking for a house it was a selling point for us. Are certain colors outdated? Yes. The look of a natural stone though (which so many man-made materials like Corian and recycled glass try to emulate) cannot be beat. Love my granite!!

frecklefrog Love this ideabook....Do hate how fridges stick out from cabinets. This doesn't happen as much in English kitchens as we don't have such big fridges and we integrate them more.

twinmommy The kitchen was the first renovation we took on in our 1892 New England Village Colonial . It looks like the kitchens last facelift was sometime in the 1980s. It was clean, functional, and on the small side, but my husband and I agree that if something doesn't bring you joy, than it should change. We cook a lot and spend a great deal of time in the kitchen so it's essential that we not dread looking at it. We weren't prepared to make it bigger but it needed a facelift. Here are a couple of before & afters.

Fore more details on our kitchen renovation visit: http://lushlifechronicles.blogspot.com/

bruinette I'd just like to add my vote for "before" & "after" photos to be taken from (more or less) the same point.

TheMoney Pit Wow! Some of those budgets blow my mind. I just did my kitchen over and it was under $3500. Granted, I reused my cabinets, and bought mid-range appliances (Bosch) but I knew I wasn't going to live here forever and I didn't want to spend any money I knew I couldn't get back in resale. (I honestly can't imagine that $62K kitchen improved the value of the house by $62K.) I totally understand it if you are going to live in your home forever (and you really love what you did), but that isn't true for me.

Maynard Virtually unchanged since it was built in 1959, this small condo kitchen was transformed from dull & drab into slick & modern. It's all from Ikea, except the fridge. Approximate cost for everything, including appliances was $8,836. Labor was approximately $1,500.

Barbara Stock Some beautiful work above. Here are before and after photos of two of many kitchens I have re-designed. You can view more of my work at http://www.houzz.com/pro/stockdunn/barbara-stock

rfahler We updated our kitchen along with our dining room and a second living room. The first picture is what we referred to as the "butler's pantry." It was a little overwhelming on the eyes for our tastes! The kitchen had been remodeled by previous homeowners from its original 1947 kitchen but none of the renovations had been done with quality in mind. The kitchen was also closed off from the rest of the house, so it wasn't great for entertaining. I apologize the before and afters aren't taken from the same vantage point but we knocked down walls, moved walls, etc so it was difficult to stand in the same place. We knocked down the wall between the kitchen and butler's pantry to make one large kitchen and added a desk under the window where the butler pantry sink used to be. We also knocked down the wall between the kitchen and living room to open up the space.

We designed the kitchen ourselves with the help of a great carpenter and lots and lots of pictures from Houzz!

sailnmuffin I'd say that the prize for the kitchen remodel that gave the biggest bang for the buck & had the greatest transformation, goes to B&A #7 from Pondicherry, India. Outstanding job!!!!

Pam Garcia I so pleased to have my kitchen ( #21) included in this post! I agree with the comment about having pictures from the same view point for before and after but, I know that it probably wasn't easy for the writer to know just based on pictures submitted. I am including more of my pics so viewers can get a better idea. The first "after" is from the same view as my "before". I have also included pantry pics. This was originally the size of a small broom closet.

sunbird7 For you guys with granite and stainless steel, I can only say Pledge pledge.
Pledge is my new best friend for my stainless applianses. Sooo easy to keep kleen and no fingerprints. Same with the only shiny piece of granite I have.
F.Y.I. If you still love your granite but hate the shine (and all that shows), it can be refinished to a honed or satin surface.

designchallenged Thanks for inluding the prices of the remodels. Wish more ideabooks would do the same.

angelajfreeman Fantastic Idea book! perfect timing for us as we are planning our dream kitchen!

aedegraff We are 99% finished with our remodel and can't wait to post before and after pictures. The seller of our home did some "updating" so it photographed pretty well, but you can put lipstick on a pig and it is STILL a pig. Their contracted sprayed the original 1975 cabinets (and it was so sloppy!) and the granite counters were crooked and uneven. We kept the basic footprint but made the sideboard bigger and I too was NOT a fan of granite, but didn't want to worry about marble...it took some doing, but I used a Brazialian Quartzite called Monte Bello (this is real stone, not a manufactured "Quartz" like Ceasar Stone, etc.) The finish is "leathered" so it isn't polished and shiny. It is AMAZING and we love it. I also have a picture from Houzz that was our "inspiration" picture I will post as well. Can't wait. And to those that asked about taking care of marble...real Quartzite is the most dense stone and a leather finish (like honed or antiqued with other stones) is very easy to care for if something happens - with a policy, the stone has to be taken off site to fix it. I hope it photographs well!

taureg I am planning a renovation and don't want counter depth refrigerators that are non-standard widths. It will be a nightmare when it is time to replace them. Therefore, I am specifying a full depth refrigerator which means I will have to compromise on the design. It also means that my renovation will cost less - I cannot imagine spending $40K or more on a kitchen, even though I can afford it.

Now I am working on finding an alternative to quartz, which wil cost thousands. I love Caeserstone's Desert Sandstone but am looking at non-traditional options, like the thing they make lab counters out of.

sandystefanik Dramatic Kitchen Makeovers: Seeing before and after pictures is a wonderful way to grasp the creativity involved in the changes that were incorporated into the makeovers. The photos shown, however, show inconsistent angles in the before and after pictures so its often difficult to see that its really the same kitchen. Same, or similar, angles would be helpful for a true comparison. Given this comment, many of the makeovers were very exciting! Thank you!

tspray We had to gut and remodel 2 bathrooms and the kitchen to make our new house liveable! The kitchen has new cabinets, new stainless appliances, new lighting, and a gorgeous silestone lyra countertop! The exterior window that was left when the previous owners made an addition was removed and opened up to create a breakfast bar. The kitchen is now bright, clean, and enjoyable! Total cost was close to $20,000.

trasgorshek I'm with you MoneyPit!! Can't even imagine spending the kind of money people are talking about, even if we had it I couldn't spend it.

I just want to say I LOVE our granite and marble counters. Yes, I do have a problem with the marble in regards to its porousness but I won't change it out. I love the veins and absolutely love the black granite with its shine...I guess I must be one of the few people who like that. I'm so glad we all don't like the same things or this world would be a boring place.

myfanwyb Regarding my comment on counter-depth fridge, it is just my personal pet peeve when a designer or custom cabinet maker does not consider this. I did find French door style with bottom freezer and bought on boxing day special. It is a good brand but certainly no more expensive than most. To get this and come in on budget I gave up the idea of a built in microwave and instead hid a counter one behind a door ( we hardly use it). I also had to give up my wish for a 36" range for space and budget! Life is full of compromises!

I like the idea of recessing the fridge but we could not do that. We bought the appliances before we bought and finalized cabinets and layout which helped a lot and I would recommend if you can do it or at least consider the "new" sizing for the future.

I left additional room on top and space to move a cabinet over if fridge sizes do change but this is a standard 36". I had considered a wine rack or such which could be removed later, but I am all about minimizing nooks and crannies for dust and grime so this was out for me. You do need to add a little space to the sides for the door swing. I also have room for a 36" range if someone really does want it, by moving a small filler cabinet. Again this was easily done.

As price is of so much interest I will share our info. Our total renovation which is 24 x11.5 and includes heated ceramic floors, new white high gloss cabinetry (ikea...$10,500) appliances, electrical fittings and lighting and all the "while we are at it" extras ( in reason) is under $30k. We are not in the trades so this has not been a cakewalk but we are reasonably handy. We did the design work ourselves and we are happy with it. Keep in mind this is Canada and our prices tend to be quite a bit higher for most building and decorating materials. Labour was ours, which was the only way we could manage it and I saved and dreamt for years.

I did go with granite because I happen to like it and it fit the budget. This is the only "contracted" job. It is not shiny though and has incredible depth. I did debate other surfaces but budget dictated.

In the end, it will not be to everyone's taste but we are thrilled, not in debt and that is all that matters to us. It is a home and we will be living here for a while, so we are not overly worried about resale bit I think most people who actually cook would be happy with it.

holisticmish This was so helpful for me! Thanks!

paulinas Thanks for including our kitchen- number 22! Its really satisfying to work on a project, love it , and know other people like it as well :-) Everyone did a great job! If you would like to see more, like our custom drawers or other pictures of our remodel, you can find them here: http://www.houzz.com/photos/users/paulinas/ls=4

dochop1 Thanks to Sunbird7 for mentioning that granite could be resurfaced. I didn't know that and I certainly don't want to replace my totally maintenance-free black granite counters. But my 14 yr. old kitchen needs to be "freshened" with new wall paint, new light fixtures, and resurfaced cabinets. (Unfortunately the clear maple didn't hold up to the moisture.) Like another critic, I found many of the redos awkward. It seemed to me that the kitchens that had a designer involved in the project were more effective and lovely.

paulanddonna Our house was a San Fernando Valley tract house built in 1950. We wanted to remodel the kitchen, laundry and small bath. We contracted it ourselves and had a wonderful and talented man and one helper. It took just under three months to complete the job and cost about $21,000. We removed the linoleum floor and replaced it with 16inch porcelain tile throughout the area. We removed the enclosed and tiled shower and installed an all glass shower. The cabinets were custom made from solid oak and stained a light honey color. All the drawers have full suspension making it easy to get to the items in the back. We moved the fridge from the center of the stove side to the far wall giving us another three feet of counter. All this gives us twice the storage area but I am sure it will fill up soon!

eharder We wanted something that was low maintenance, durable, efficient, functional and cosmetically pleasing. Most of all I wanted something unusual and different. We both preferred the European-Italian contemporary style. I decided to tackle it myself and designed our own. I also wanted a 26" symmetric cabinet width and continuous horizontal grain look. Here's before and after.
More pics: http://eharder.com/kitchen.html

stlouisgaltoo This was a great article! Thank you for including my project kitchen 23. Now, please do real life bathroom remodels! I have one waiting for inspiration! 2013 is my target date to work on it.

nanlu I agree with myfanwyb, life is about compromise. I wasn't able to recess my fridge because the laundry closet is directly behind it, with no room to spare. I live in an expanded Cape Cod with no basement so space is at a premium. If I put the fridge on another wall, I wouldn't be able to have a pantry cabinet. I may have to sacrifice some volume, but my new 36" counter-depth fridge will have more interior space than my old one, so I'm very happy.

I llove everyone's new kitchens! It would be a very boring world if everyone had the same taste. Budgets notwithstanding, these are beautiful remodels. It just goes to show what a little imagination and, in many cases, some time and effort, can do!

aedegraff To Taureg - I too did not want a counter depth refrigerator. We had a separate unit/side board in our kitchen and the fridge was part of that. It was a tiny opening circa 1975, so it had to be redone no matter what. We rebuilt that section and made the counter standard depth, reconfigured the cabinets and drawers to be more useful and built the cabinet housing around the fridge, so it fits inside it's own section. The cabinet comes out past the counter, but it looks clean and purposeful. The fridge isn't installed yet, but I will post a picture soon. Yes, $40,000 is a lot for a kitchen, but it really depends on how big your space is, and if you are changing the layout - and of course, what finishes you want. We kept the exact footprint, kept the lower cabinets and replaced the doors, and redid all the upper cabinets. My cabinets are painted, so this worked fine for us. If you want a stain or something more modern and shiny, then yes, the budget goes up. I also went from keeping counters I didn't love because the previous owner had put them in as an "upgrade" to replacing them all with a more expensive product because it was what I loved and it went with everything else in my house. I didn't want to be wasteful and was able to donate the old granite. Most spend a great deal of time in the kitchen, so do what you love within a price range you can afford.

suzienyc We have just renovated our kitchen about six weeks ago. We had walls knocked down and we just love the open feel of this kitchen now.

PamDesigns 3D While I agree that the before and after photos should be taken from the same vantage point, it is not always evident that they are due to changes in construction and layout. In my remodel (the one in the comments above with the chalkboard next to the refrigerator) we added a doorway and changed the location of some major components. Our remodel included moving a half bath so that it no longer opens directly into the kitchen, creating a hallway from the garage to the kitchen which included pantry cabinets and converting an extra bedroom into a laundry/hobby room.

Our original budget for all of this was 50K and the actual cost was 60K. The cost could have easily been much more, but we saved money in some key areas like appliances and plumbing fixtures. I wanted as high end as I could get, but opted for moderate level stainless appliances and shopped the internet for deals. Some of them are from surplus outlets and some were from showrooms that were closing or updating to newer models. None of them are 'this-year's' models --which would be irrelevant in a year anyway. All came with at least a partial warranty intact. Another way we saved was installing the flooring, back splash and doing all of the painting ourselves. We reused the cabinet hardware from the old kitchen (that was purchased only a few months before knowing it would go into the new kitchen) --we had to purchase a few more knobs. The main sink faucet was a gift from Brizo, the manufacturer. It's much nicer with more features than I would have opted for were I to pay for it ---but now it's my FAVORITE thing in the kitchen!

Most of the flooring material was left over from the flooring we had installed in the rest of the house earlier in the year. The acrylic counter top material is significantly less than stone would have been and was fabricated and installed by the same company that installed the cabinets. We reused the under-cabinet light fixtures from the old kitchen. We salvaged the old cabinets, sold half of them and will reuse the rest in the garage and laundry. I created the chalkboard with chalkboard paint.

I am a kitchen designer by trade and have a degree in interior architecture. So of course, I did all of the planning and drafted all of the working drawings myself. I also obtained the necessary permits from the city instead of paying my contractor to do it.

Where we splurged: The cabinets are a modular face-frame type by a mid-priced manufacturer. However, we opted for a lot of high-end features that you don't see like roll-out shelves, pullout spice drawers, a stainless steel pot & pan storage pull-out system, a wood lazy susan corner unit and a pull-up door on the appliance garage. All of the drawers and doors come standard with a soft-close mechanism. Another splurge was some new lighting. The 4" LED can lights in the pantry area are new and we switched out the bulbs in the existing 6" can lights in the kitchen for LED's. The bulbs are about $30 each but the light quality is better and use about 6 times less energy than the old bulbs. The pendant lights over the main sink and bar that are made from antique seltzer bottles ~probably the only items I paid retail for.

Unexpected costs: We added a doorway from the kitchen into the dining room. This was critical to our plan to make the only dining space in the house more accessible. Unfortunately, it entailed moving a shear wall. Our option was to either shore up the existing shear wall or move it --the latter proved less expensive. So there was an additional cost of about 5K for the engineering and subsequent construction costs to accomplish this ~not to mention the time delay of about two weeks.

We did this very taste-specific remodel without regard to resale value and would do it again in a heart beat. Could you justify buying your dream car with all the bells and whistles? I spend much more time in my kitchen.. and now because I love it .

Carolyn Zone9alady Wow, I could comment on all of them. Being in the middle of a DIY kitchen reno right now I found this very informative. Wonderful upgrades. A few I could have left just as they were. The most interesting, the remodel in India. I'll bet even before the upgrade, some good food came out of that kitchen.

stlouisgaltoo I love to see all remodels and appreciate the hard work that goes into them. Some of the "design" features / trends can go a little over the top. Everything will look "dated" eventually. I think every house lends itself to different ones. Example: Granite makes sense for higher end homes. Maybe not so much in more modest homes. I am thrilled with my Formica "solid surface" look countertops. Stainless Steel appliances have been around a while. I chose to stay with white...because I still like it. It is all personal choice and budget.

lilnicola I like some of the befores much better than the afters, especially the first one. Not too crazy about black, stainless, or granite in a kitchen. I prefer a vintage look.

wobblybarner123 Great ideas, and I like the fact the cost is included, but unless the before and after are taken from the same place and angle, the after means nothing; they could be any kitchen...

astraea It's a step in the right direction that costs are included, and some comments about how much the homeowners did themselves, but I'd like to see an even more extensive breakdown of costs. When a homeowner says they "did the design", does that mean they did a sketch that a contractor or store's professional translated into working plans for plumbing, wiring & cabinetry .. or that the homeowner(s) have the skills to develop working plans & spec list themselves? When it says the homeowner(s) "did the work", does it mean they did all the actual labor themselves, acted as a GC hiring contractors, or did the work with hired laborers to help them with the "heavy lifting"?

stlouisgaltoo My kitchen is one of the simpler, more modest projects. #23. I drew out the room dimensions/floor plan and took it to Home Depot. Measure, , measure! I did not change the exsting footprint . They plugged the dimensions into their planning program and together we picked out the cabinets and loaded them in. Free design service. My husband installed all of the cabinets all by himself. Free labor.

We purchased a new refrigerator (no frills) the dishwasher ( I did not have one) disposal and the microwave. We already had the stove and it was fairly new.

We contracted the professionals to install the Formica laminate counter tops, vinyl sheet flooring and plumbing. We paid a plumber to replace all of the old galvanized plumbing in our farmhouse and reroute the kitchen plumbing to the septic tank prior to installing the cabinets. The plumber hooked up the sink, etc. Paying a professional plumber is worth every penny! Don't scrimp on plumbing. Same with an electrician. Better to be safe.


My photo does not show the full 15' of cabinets along the wall with the sink. There is also an additional 4' of cabinets that is alongside the refrigerator.

I had gone thru a kitchen remodel in 1994 in my 1970's ranch home. It had the same layout so I already knew what I wanted in this kitchen. And what I did not want. I have a functional and pretty kitchen on a budget that I can live with....and it is paid for!

The backsplash will be tiled soon.

Hope this helps explain the mindset.

Carol Thanks for including my kitchen makeover, no. 3; the kitchen helped sell this house in 2 weeks! The makeover budget of 15K actually included a larger area shown in photos included, a new eating nook shelv, a kitchen skylight and pocket door, and new terra cotta tiled floor. My husband had had two knee replacements but scooted around on a mechanics stool to pull up old flooring and help our handyman.

One thing I would do different is not to choose such a patterned granite, something a little softer and left contrasty as anything patterned you want to set on the counter looks a little too busy!

txmagca Lots of comments about granite's overuse. I put in quartz (Silestone) with a kitchen remodel 11 years ago and it has been FABULOUS. Heat resistant to 425 or 450 degrees; no staining; microban; no scratches. Absolutely no care required and so many options on color. We've got 4 baths and when I redid them I used quartz in the two most used ones and on the bar. With our hard water I don't have to worry about calcium buildup. I am in the kitchen 2-3 hours a day and have had zero problems. I put smooth layer of olive oil over it or flour it depending on what I am preparing (different doughs or pastas). No worries because everything just wipes right off. If you cook alot or if you have kids, quartz is the way to go. When we move to our new house in CA I am incorporating some wood on the island but sticking with my durable clean quartz. For the last several years, on modern and contemporary home design tours and in many articles, I see a preponderance of Silestone, Cesarstone and marble compared to granite. We will look at Eco by Consentino as well. For a quick guide to countertop pros and cons please see bhg website http://www.bhg.com/kitchen/countertop/top-10-countertop-materials/#page=1

Carolyn Zone9alady That's good to know txmagca, we are installing quartz too. (Cambria)

txmagca Love your copper accents with your quartz! You've gone durable and beautifully unique at the same time.
More on counter top choices: I have a friend with copper countertops and sinks in her mostly white country French kitchen. Yes, they are affected by acids and such but they are durable and she likes the patina. She has incorporated butcher block in there as well.

nanlu We did a complete bathroom remodel 10 months ago and used quartz for the vanity counter. It looks just as beautiful as the day it was installed. It hasn't stained (even from makeup), chipped or scratched and no special cleaners are required. This, along with appearance is why we chose Cambria's Blackwood (sorry for repeating myself from a previous post) for our kitchen remodel. I'm sure the countertops wil get a lot of abuse, but I won't have to worry about maintenance. I don't own stock in Cambria, but they do have 100 beautiful and varied choices - like choosing a favorite from a box of chocolates!

By the way, Carolyn Zone 9alady, which color do you have? It looks pretty next to copper.

Carolyn Zone9alady Thanks, it's Cambria's "Bradshaw", they just introduced it in May this year. If you scroll over the photo you can see that it has actual copper flecks in it.

nanlu Thank you. Cambria's website doesn't do it justice - I couldn't see the real copper in it!

Carolyn Zone9alady I know, it looks totally different in person.

myfanwyb For Astreaa. I did the design in the sense of using Ikea floor plan and website, materials selection, tear out, building, plumbing, painting, simple electrical and tiling. In other words everything. Measure, remeasure, consult and breathe. Houzz was inspirational and so are magazines and travel.

There is an enormous amount of information available to help the beginner. You just need to take it slow and invest or borrow some good tools and research and measure, measure and think.


We did try and get quotes for the tile work but it seems contractors are not happy if they are not getting their cut from the tile supplier and many did not quote or it was ludicrous. We bought tile online and it is gorgeous and 50% less. Then we found out about the "contractors" side deals.

We also called a plumber to help but my husband knew more than he did. He also had excuses not to comeback. Certainly there are good contractors but we would be on an incredibly long wait list or in debt. There is a vast shortage of skilled labour in our parts.

I do hire when it is beyond me, such as heights, roofing, masonry and really heavy work but not on this job.

Lauren Elyse The folks who did the El Centro 'elegant' upgrade killed it. I think they did hands down the best job stylistically & from the looks of the new fireplace in the back they nailed it all across the board. I lust for their cabinets & applaud the staining rater than gutting and replacing.

pattiv I have two pet peeves with the typical kitchen:

First, the counters are just not deep enough, if you need the work surface and also have some small appliances that don't fit elsewhere. Why doesn't anyone make the counter about 12 inches deeper, leaving room at the back for the toaster, along with enough room to assemble a sandwich in front.

Second, as mentioned by others, is the refrigerator bulge.

Anyone successfully addressed both issues? It seems that it should not be a big deal to get deeper base cabinets, perhaps the same depth as the refrigerator. But when I ask cabinet suppliers, they look at me as if I am nuts. I know I could just offset the cabinets from the back wall and make the counter deeper, but then there is a bit of wasted space back there.

bjkulp Loved these - very inspiring. Anxious to show off our remodel (if it ever gets finished). Turning bedroom into kitchen. Tune in later.

pamzella I like some of these, but what brought me to article was the first pic- a very typical kitchen for CA, and one in so many of the houses in the lower end of the price range (for CA)... where what you see is what there is, plus an eat-in area for a table that often cannot fit more than 6 and sometimes not more than 4, and no dining room/other eating area. I was disappointed to discover the remodel had to have removed another room from the house to get to 28 feet, and no mention was made of what they sacrificed/changed to make that happen.

txmagca Dear Pattiv, custom cabinet makers will do that for you. We are making a counter extra deep. With pull out shelving you can use most of the interior space just fine.

twinmommy It shouldn't be a problem to make your counters & cabinets extra deep to match your refrigerator depth. We did that in our last home and created some great under counter drawers that we used for large pots and appliance storage. It created a hutch effect.

Damian Disterdick Simply amazing. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas. I can't believe that my old kitchen is what people pay $65,000 to make new. I hate my kitchen and would pay $65,000.00 to make it like some of the before photographs. Odd world that we live in.

hunny8888 here are ours! better late than never! need to retake the post pictures, we get great afternoon sun that I missed

pattiv This is a very small kitchen in the converted "carriage house" of a home in New Orleans. Yes, it is as small as it looks! We did move the refrigerator out of the space somewhat, but were able to add a small dishwasher and increase cabinet space tremendously. The cabinets were custom made, and the counter top is tile with an accent strip of the backsplash tile. All DIY, too.

joanthony1 The remodel was completed a few weeks ago. We found out how much the extra space meant when it started to rain at our barbeque. Everyone fit in the expanded kitchen. We had knocked down the wall that separated our kitchen and dining room. We have been thinking about this remodel for 25 years and now that is done we love it even more than we thought we would.

Rocío I love it,

Laura Clarke We knew when we bought this house last year that the kitchen was crying out for help. I liked the footprint, but everything else had to go. We worked with a cabinet maker & a contractor. The appliances, including an induction cooktop, and the quartz countertops were our big splurges. Although the kitchen space is small, it's open to a casual dining area and a family room. I'm thrilled with the outcome!

misty_bee Just completed as much of a remodel as we could on a $650.00 budget! We focused on walls, floor, and cabinets. We took two days off work around a weekend and just went gung-ho on the kitchen for 4 days. The walls were still the very old plaster from the early 1900's, and had a lot of cracking as well as a few holes. We removed aboput 60 years of different wallpaper layers, repaired the holes, and used joint compound to cover all the walls in a texture pattern -to hide the cracking...then painted. We pulled, and chiseled out, about 5 layers of various flooring linoleum before laying down new laminate "tiles". The dark 70's cabinets we refinished using the Rustoleum Transformation cabinet product. A Home Depot Black Friday Sale offered up a nice wallmount microwave with stove vent to replace the ancient, grimy vent / microwave shelf chained to the wall... :)

misty_bee The best finds were a beautiful, offset, cast-iron sink at a salvage center for $30.00, and a 1940's farmhouse table and chairs for $45.00 that I was able to refinish to match the cabinets, and create a breakfast "nook" area :)

jszap We remodeled our kitchen and took down the wall into our unused dining room. We replaced all the tile and the Corian counters that were actually cracked. Our Corian sink was also cracked. We love our new kitchen and granite counters. We still need to tile the backsplash and bar stools.

Elaine Kimery I love before and afters, I am definitely a dark wood cabinet person, although I loved the modern one, or i call it modern with the red cabinets and silver handles that was cool, and not usually the style i like, my least favorite had to be the kitchen with the driftwood in it, my my, but, I am sure the owner loves it and that's all that matters really. Enjoyed this, there were quite a few I didnt quite understand, but once again, it's not for my taste. Thanks so much for the before and afters..love em..!!

jamesandmandy1 Here is our before and after kitchen remodel. However, does not give the true before and after as when we bought the house the kitchen counter tops were a seafoam green laminate. I did find a a way to paint them a few years back to look better; after about 3 years paint was peeling and melting in spots due to hot items being placed on them. The appliances were all white and old from the early 90's. We could not even find parts for them any more and they had thick metal edges on the cooktop and oven. We did not get pictures until after new appliances were installed. Our main objective was to get rid of the country oak look. We had new cherry hardwood floors installed, our cabinets were really good quality so we had them professionally painted and added custom touches such as feet to the cabinets, crown moldings, trim moldings and a custom wine rack built into the bar. We changed all the hardware, added granite countertops, new sink, faucet and did a tile back splash. We also had a oak cabinet we had had for years painted by the same company as well. My kitchen turned out so well that the owner of the company who did my cabinets came and shot a commercial. Most people cannot believe these are my same cabinets. Since then we have had 2 other neighbors use the same company to transform their kitchens. Cost of the project was $15,000 and that's including appliances and labor. Having our cabinets re-done was a fraction of the cost of new cabinets.

Nora Qudus the only before kitchen worse than mine was in India! Mine is so dysfunctional and has 8 openings 6 doors and 2 windows. Plus it is the main entrance to the house! I need all the inspiration I can get since I got no money!!!!

dlminnich I love, love, love my granite countertops. What is with all the negative comments about granite? I'm sure there are other products I would like as well, but I don't understand why people want to make others feel dissatisfied with what they have.

collins design The kitchen in our 1956 ranch was tiny and the most-used entry door opened right into it with no closet or mudroom. I hated cooking in there , closed off from the rest of the house and tripping over boots and shoes and coats and bookbags.

We gutted the kitchen/dining/living and opened the space up, adding a mudroom with slate floors at the entry. We did almost all the work ourselves except framing and sheetrocking. I designed the space. The total cost for all 4 rooms was about $24,000. The kitchen itself was maybe $18k or so. Cabinets are cherry shaker in the main kitchen and white-painted in the pantry/desk/bar area. Main counters are marble, island and pantry counters are cherry. Floors are oak, patched in to the old existing ones.

Jae Vinson Love kitchen before and afters!
We remodeled ours last year too.
http://www.designocd.com/2012/03/kitchen-makeover/

amyhoitenga Some of the "afters" look like they should be "befores"
:)

Butter Lutz Interiors, LLC This was a challenging one...

elvasue Could you find out what product was used for the Backsplash in Cozy South Carolina Kitchen and the color and Brand? I LOVE IT! Also what is the countertop made of? Looks like granite, but the name of the Granite if possible? The reason is the backsplash doesn't clash with the countertop and our countertop looks similar. LOVE LOVE LOVE that BACKSPLASH!!! Timeless and beautiful!!!!!

AJ The first two are amazing!

elvasue We LOVE our granite countertop. It looks as if you are looking at nature - you ARE! I have to laugh, though, at some of the shows on HGTV, when as long as it's granite the prospective buyer LOVES it! It could be clashing with everything and they LOVE it! Our granite reminds me EVERY DAY of the beauty God created. LOVE IT! What I DON'T understand is stainless appliances! TOO INDUSTRIAL for my taste. It does look good in modern kitchens, but give me a break! That should go out WAY before granite. Granite is timeless. XOXO

Jouee My recent DIY kitchen remodel for under $500. Cabinets were sanded, primed, and painted white ($80 -Home Depot). Laminate counters were painted with black countertop paint paint ($20 : Rust-oleum from HD), fridge was painted with stainless steel paint (Rust-oleum from Ebay: $15) & same black epoxy paint. Stove was replaced ($200: Habitat for Humanity Resale shop) Hardware was updated ($25 Ebay), misc materials ($50). Not bad for a project that took a couple of weekends completed by a single mom.

rosebud3 Love seeing these, but wish all the before and after photos were taken from the same position as Jouee has done above.

suesan Funny, I like some of the befores better than the afters!

Ann Lowengart Interiors, LLC Also, enjoyed the before and after pics! Here's another example from a project completed in 2010 on Upper Toyon Road in Kentfield. It came out of the wife's desire for a beautiful place to entertain. As you can see from the "before" photo, the old space was nothing short of depressing. Definitely not a space conducive to fun soirees! The new kitchen and adjoining family room needed to function as a hub for parties where the wife serves her gourmet-quality macrobiotic food (starters include savory kale chips and homemade cacao energy bars for the kids and cold cucumber soup for the adults!). Of course the main role the space needed to play is as a cheery and relaxing backdrop for her sporty, active family including three young kids and a dog.

The pulls are from Restoration hardware and are between $7.49 and $8.00.
The slab is honed carrara from North Bay Stone and is $110- $120/square foot installed.
The butcher block material at the end of the island is by John Boos and is approximately $770.00

Mary Bona Here's my latest kitchen remodel, before and after. Total cost was approximately $6,800.

mugsy1703 We also just remodeled our kitchen in the past year. We took down a wall and made our kitchen / family room one space. We LOVE it!

graduate1964 There were two "befores" that I liked better than the "afters". Some of them were marginal whether or not they needed a complete remodel. I believe you have to be careful, or you can lose the character of a house.

Stavros Mitchelides Here's the kitchen in one of my properties that I designed and renovated by myself, at age 25...it's been 10 years since I did this project and I still love how it came out.

Mega Builders Again a great write up with great illustrations. Some of the comments and attached images are wonderful as well.

reillyk Remodeled our kitchen a few months ago. Amazing transformation to a functional and gorgeous space

Hanh My husband and I do not have any art/design background but we do bounce a lot of idea back and forth until we agree on a design. We used a kitchen magazine as our guide and suggestions from the Ikea staff (I didn't know about Houzz then).

Here is my kitchen remodel...

Before pictures in link: http://www.eichlersocal.com/?portfolio=eichler_20#
The before kitchen has 2 drawers for utensils and cooking tools and a lot of awkward unreachable corner spaces. The oven and dishwasher was placed in a corner and we can't open the dishwasher if the oven is open or if the small drawer nearby is partially open.

Some additional before pictures after we moved in...we painted the cabinet but the kitchen was still not too small and not enough storage.

After pictures that I've posted on Houzz:

We designed this kitchen ourselves. Bought all the appliances except for the warming drawer as soon as we moved in. The existing appliances were old and very dirty; the refrigerator has dog hair inside...just filthy. We remodel using Ikea cabinet that was being discontinued and got an additional 15% off in addition to their normal kitchen sale. The back splash is painted glass. We bought the paint and match the color of the front door and painted 2 pieces of glass ourselves. We splurged on the waterfall island and warming drawer.

Our kitchen is very functional, it only take a few steps from the dishwasher to unload the dishes. We followed the rules suggested for the working triangle by the Ikea staff. I'm very happy with our kitchen remodel. We now have have a modern kitchen with mid-century feel to it.

-- Hanh

kiran64 before and after :)

caldwell3488 Project cost about 34K - we wanted to reuse the Amish cabinets that were already in the house since they were custom and handmade - just blowing out the wall made me feel 100% better since our house is super small. What a difference and the Coffee/Wine Bar - that idea was killer - and came from an inspiration photo I tore out of a magazine.

alwaysdesigning Everyone criticizing should appreciate how difficult a kitchen is to remodel. Yes, it may not work for you, but it must work within the confines of the current house itself and it's pathways. The remodels were kept to a modest budget but still, look at how much they cost.

The decisions are overwhelming in design, products, materials and arriving in mutual agreement with others in the family who have their own ideas. Appreciate these kitchens that have gone from less than stellar to a "new house" feel for these families. I applaud their labors of love. It is uplifting and invigorating to see their new kitchens.

Fein Design Great article.....LOVE before and after photos!!!! Makes you remember why you went through everything you did to get your beautiful space!

rosebud3 Love the idea book and all the photos readers have added. They are very inspirational :) Thanks to everyone for sharing. And job well done!!!

My current kitchen is a galley with 1989 construction grade honey oak cabinets and Formica. I'm planning on selling the house in a year or two and decided not to remodel...let the new homeowners make it their own.

I've been playing around with designing my next house and can't decide on the kitchen cabinets. At first I wanted a nice warm cozy with wood or bamboo and did not like the white kitchens. Now after collecting hundreds of images from Houzz I am rethinking. Since I get bored quickly, white may be better since I can change the wall paint to any color whenever I get bored. I've also decided to stick with a laminate countertop. It is so carefree and a lot less expensive to change out if I get bored with that. And the maintenance is zero!

BTW, I hate the galley style. My next kitchen will be an L with an island.

Norma Sassone Renting now, so kitchen reno not in my future - but if it were, I LOVE pickled or bleached wood cabinets - they lend a lightness without the starkness of white. And honestly, not being able to spend $5000 for a counter top, I have always had formica - and I liked it! Now it can even be installed without the seam line :-) I'd combine this wood and formica in my kitchen and save a bundle! And the counter is cheap enough that when I am tired of it, I would not sweat replacing it after 8 or 9 years.

Tara Bussema i feel so torn over kitchen remodels. some kitchens ( like the first ) have so much character, and now it's just gone. it's too bad there isn't a better, easier way to preserve a kitchen but update it for functionality's sake.

i, too, and SO over granite...that's why i can't watch HGTV anymore...i'm so tired of every potential home buyer saying that they need granite. i think people think they need it, but don't know why other than it being trendy.

peachpacker Bh

1millieonaire Some really smart renovations - top marks to the post from India! but how I wish people didn't feel the need for those BIG bulbous fridge/freezers!! Just think about how much 'stuff' is stored in them - shelves of pickles & sauces, juices & pop - sugar, sugar, sugar!! No wonder the industralized nations are getting fat.
Choose a slim, small fridge and buy fresh produce. Put a small chest freezer in another location like the basement. This will be a healthier way to store & supply the family with food!

rosebud3 Norma - I'm with you on the Formica, inexpensive to change out.

Tara - with you and the granite. So expensive you dare not want to change it out. And I hate the patterns of the fake granite wannabes hard surface materials.

Give me a pretty Formica any day. I don't need to be pretentious and buy granite.

rosebud3 Norma, I do like your choices of the cabinets and Formica. The Formica and Wilsonart laminates made today are very beautiful.

Woven Decor We did a major renovation on our ranch (in fact, you can see the whole Houzz tour under Rapid Canyon Ranch). While many of the comments on our remodel were negative, we were thrilled with the outcome, especially the kitchen. It was a tiny, drab, totally outdated space. We removed the ceiling to expose the beams and decking, used AGA appliances to maintain a somewhat retro look, added custom tile medallions in the backsplash and used soapstone for the counters. While the floor tiling was a bit more contemporary, it has a cozy, time-worn affect. My kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in the whole house.

roseyree Stlouisgaltoo, I am the most inspired by your redo. We have a 1935 bungalow that originally had nothing but a cupboard in the corner of the kitchen and a sink. A previous owner actually found some old cabinets on their way to the dump and installed them. The sink is the original cast iron with a rounded metal cabinet underneath.. We lived with that set up for 23 years. We have the house for sale now and desperately need to make it a "real" kitchen, but were afraid we couldn't afford to do it. Your kitchen is gorgeous at a price we can handle. Thank you so much for submitting it and providing so much information. (you convinced my husband it can be done!)

saghdasi thank you for your good remodeling kitchens